


Yes, Sir?

by HolyKingWasteLand



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: After Shiro goes missing, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Can be read as Shance, Cuban Lance (Voltron), Everyone is pretty grr, Gen, How Do I Tag, Hurt No Comfort, I do actually love these gays, Lance (Voltron) Angst, Lance (Voltron) is a Mess, Lance (Voltron)-centric, Lance looks up to Shiro as a role model, Langst, Not Beta Read, Not very Keith friendly, Only because he's the new leader and under a lot of stress okay, Post-Episode s02e13: Blackout, Pretty much just a big pile of Langst, Role Models, Shiro (Voltron) is Missing, Shiro (Voltron)'s Missing Year, We Die Like Men, because i live for that
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-27
Updated: 2019-07-03
Packaged: 2019-08-28 14:27:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,490
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16725141
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HolyKingWasteLand/pseuds/HolyKingWasteLand
Summary: "Shiro would want us to keep saving people!" Lance says, "Y'know- form Voltron! Not just.. sit around the castle and hope he comes back-""Lance,." Allura cuts him off sharply. "I understand you are trying to help, but please stop."OR;Lance tries to cheer everyone up after Shiro vanishes but keeps getting shot down until he finally stops trying..





	1. The Reckoning

**Author's Note:**

> I drafted this one-shot when season 2 just finished airing, so it was a long time ago-  
> But.. sadly I'm still in this fandom, with one foot out the door, as my friends try to tempt me with amazing Langst fanfictions and beautiful Plance animatics..

_It all started the day Shiro went missing.  
_

The Paladins (excluding Shiro), Allura, and Coran stand around the control room. Depressed faces all around; the silence is unbearable so Lance speaks up.

"Okay guys.. I know this looks bad but- but Shiro would want us to keep saving people!" Lance says, looking around at all their moping faces. His friends around the room shift uncomfortably. "Y'know- form Voltron! Not just.. sit around the castle and hope he comes back-"

"Lance,." Allura cuts him off sharply, standing up with a barely hidden scowl. "I understand you are trying to help, but please stop."

The Blue Paladin looks taken aback and he tries to look into each of their eyes, but they all avoid his eye contact. "Uh- right okay, yeah. I'll just..." He throws a thumb over his shoulder and awkwardly shuffles out of the room, noticing the mumbled whispers as he leaves. He tries not to let it get to him. Gotta stay strong.

_For Shiro._

 

* * *

 

It's a few days later when Keith is sitting alone in the common room of the castle. Shiro disappearing has put a real damper on everyone's moods, but especially Keith's because _he's_  now expected to lead Voltron. He rubs his hands over his face and leaves them there comfortably. He hears the door open and he suppresses a groan.

"Keith?" The leader sighs and looks up; seeing Lance standing in the doorway, clad in his blue dress-robe and lion slippers. "What are you doing up so late?" He takes a seat across from the new Black Paladin and smiles uneasily.

"I could ask you the same thing." The shorter man counters, raising an eyebrow.

Lance chuckles airily and runs a hand through his damp brown hair. "I just finished my nightly routine and I came out to get some water, now you?" He grins, wiggling his eyebrows. Keith rolls his eyes.

"You know, you really need to train more." Lance's smile slowly slips off his face, feeling a lecture coming on. "You should stop spending so much time worrying about your... " _Nightly routines"_ and start focusing on getting better at fighting. We're fighting a war here Lance. And now, without Shiro here, we all need to pick up the slack."

Keith stands up and stretches. "I'm going to bed. Night," Without another word, the short emo guy turns and leaves the room. Lance stares after him with a sad expression, and he looks down at his hands in thought before going out the same door- but doesn't stop by his bedroom door.

He keeps going until he reaches the training room.

He doesn't get much sleep that night.

_It's what Shiro would do._

 

* * *

 

"Lance! I need you over there to cover Pidge!" Keith yells through the comms. Lance tries to speak up but his voice is drowned out by the others, so he just zooms over to his friend in need and does as he's told.

The Green Lion gets hit and it spins a few times while Pidge tries to straighten herself out again. "Pidge! Are you okay?" Lance asks as he zooms towards her once more, going a bit too fast because he's not used to his new lion- and he slams straight into her. " _Argh-_ " They both get sent flying. Green- having not have recovered from her last hit just yet- does a few flips and Pidge grunts in pain as she attempts to get them upright again.

Her face-camera pops up on Lance's screen, and she looks disgruntled. "Lance, watch where you're flying!" Pidge growls, straining to try and avoid being hit by the enemy laser-beams.

"Sorry Pidge, I'm not used to how fast this one is." He says sheepishly, trying once again to fly around her lion and help her out with the battle-cruisers.

"Just- watch it."

He nods mutely and her face disappears. Frustrated with himself, he reminds himself and his new lion of who the  _enemies_ are and who their  _friends_ are.

_Be like Shiro, show them you can do it._

 

* * *

 

They land back in the lion hangars, another fleet of Galran soldiers have been taken care of. Another battle won.

Red's mouth opens and Lance uses his jet-pack to gently guide himself to the floor. He takes his helmet off and shakes his head, letting his hair move around freely- although quite stiff from the helmet. He looks around and sees his friends doing the same and he starts walking over to them, helmet under his left arm and a smile on his face.

The others look over at him as he jogs the last bit of the way, they're smiling slightly in return (apart from Keith, but what do you expect). He lets out a fast breath and lets the smile on his face take over, growing bigger and bigger as his heart swells with love for these people he considers close to family.

"We did it!" He says with a fist-pump, grinning happily at the others. Allura laughs softly and covers her mouth with her free hand politely. Pidge and Hunk are smiling around at the group, happy to have survived another day. Keith isn't sharing their enthusiasm. _And_ here it comes.

"You could have lost us the battle, Lance." Keith chastises, holding his helmet down at his side with his left hand. "You could have gotten Pidge seriously hurt- or in a worst-case-scenario, killed."

Lance shrinks back slightly at his harsh words. "I-I'm sorry Keith, but like I said before- I'm not good with Red! She's way to fast for me and-"

"Stop giving excuses!" He yells, and Lance jumps back in surprise, his eyes wide and confused. "You need to learn how to work _with_  her. You were already a pilot before you switched to Red, so I don't know why you're finding this so difficult!"

The Cuban boy's heart shatters and he blinks rapidly, his mouth hanging open in shock. He doesn't look over at the others but he can see that they look almost as shocked as him.

When Lance doesn't say anything else, Keith huffs angrily and turns on his heel, stalking out of the hanger on his own; leaving behind a group of confused Paladins.

The others look over at the tanned boy and see him staring dejectedly at the floor. They try to talk to him, provide him some comfort, but he shrugs them all off, opting to just go to the training room- despite how badly he wanted to go soak in the bath.

_Prove to them that you're not a failure or a mistake._

 

* * *

 

Lance picks up his face-masks box and stares down at it, no emotion visible on his face. In his other hand he holds a clean plastic trash bag he got from the kitchen. Without too much care, he pushes every face and make-up product he owns into the bag.

He looks around the now-empty bathroom bench and feels another bit of his heart being crushed. With a resigned sigh he ties the bag up and goes to throw it in the trash but he hesitates.

 _Just do it, they don't mean anything right?_ The thought scares him. Do they really mean that much to him that he can't throw them away? He blinks slowly and swallows audibly.

The next thing he knows, he's shoving them in the cupboard under his bench, far in the back so he can't see them everyday. It's stupid, he should just throw them out. But... they bring an odd sense of comfort to him, like a safety net or something.

He sits back on his knees and looks sadly at the bag for a long moment, before finally closing the cupboard doors with a gentle  _click._ He rests his head against the cool surface and tries to keep his breathing even.

_Do whatever it takes._

 

* * *

 

Every free chance he gets is spent training. Training with his gun on targets in the open. While hiding. Doing rolls and shooting at the same time. Anything he can think of to help him. But some days, when his hands are blistering and sore and cramped from over-use, he'll go to the library in the castle and read up on everything he can about the Galra race. 

He practises with swords, bats, and even bits of debris he finds when he's out flying with Red.

His muscles are more defined, as he spends a lot of time working on them too. If he's going to save people, then he'll need to be strong. What if someone was injured and couldn't walk to a safe place? What if he had to carry several people at a time? So he does drills. He fills bags up with books, or other heavy objects he can find, and he puts one on his back, and carries one bridal style in his arms. Then it gets more intense from there.

Soon enough he can carry three big bags full of books, two on his back and one over his shoulder. He's still trying to fit as many more on his person as he can, but there's not enough room.

But the fear of not being able to save that one person keeps him going. He works hard hours into the night, running, ducking behind places, even puts down the three bags he's holding and pulls out his bayard, shooting at the bots that come his way. He's not going to let anyone die on his watch. He'll make sure of that.

_He'll make them see. Shiro will be so proud._

 

* * *

 

Pidge and Hunk share a look as Lance tries to finish his food quickly. Things haven't been the same since their leader went missing. Sure, they were all heart-brokenly devastated over his disappearance, but Keith and Lance have taken it the worst out of all of them. They didn't like getting along before _it_ happened, but now the two aren't even on speaking terms.

After Keith yelled at Lance, the Red Pilot threw himself into training, and his two best friends  _know_ that it's not okay, but they can't seem to get through to him. Every time they show concern for him and his well being, he just brushes them off with an empty pun and weak finger guns. His smiles are scarce and he doesn't talk anywhere near as much as he used to.

Lance quickly scoops up the last of his mac 'n cheese and shoves it into his mouth before standing up. He rushes off to the kitchen and the two friends don't see him again- he probably went out the other door. That's another thing he's doing: he can't sit still for more than five seconds.

He's always running around, never staying in one place for too long because he's "got things to do".

They're not sure what to do to help him.

So they do nothing.

_What would Shiro have done?_

 

* * *

 

Time goes on. They save people, planets, homes, families.. And all the while Lance keeps training in all of his spare time. They keep searching for Shiro.

Until one day.. they find him.

 

* * *

 

Keith and Shiro stumble out of the black lion as soon as they land. Keith activates his jet-pack to stop them from falling completely, but they still collide with the floor rougher than he would have liked.

The others also exit their lions and see Keith struggling top hold up an unconscious Shiro; he barks out a strained, "Lance!" as he heaves the older man towards the direction of the healing pods. Lance reacts immediately and loops an arm around the other side of their former leader.

Together they haul him through the castle and into one of the pods. The blue-tinted glass closes over him.

Hank and Pidge linger a few metres away with concerned looks, Allura is standing beside them trying to compose herself, and Coran is typing something into the pod's keypad with his eyebrows furrowed.

Keith is standing with his hand raised to the glass, a hopeful look settles on his face- something they haven't seen since before Shiro went missing in the first place. Lance stands off to the side, his legs shoulder width apart and his hands clasped behind his back- a pose that screams  _soldier._

Once Coran finishes typing, he pulls out a handkerchief and wipes at his eyes before pocketing it once again.

"His injuries are extensive, so I don't expect he'll be awake for another week or so." The older Altean explains, and the hopeful mood is shifted into one of suspense. Looks are exchanged around the room by all except Lance, and then their eyes settle back on their former leader.

The room goes completely silent and Keith sits down right in front of the pod. Lance does a glance over the room but his eyes linger over Shiro's damaged body and he feels something in his chest feel painful. Something he hasn't felt in... a while. It hurts. His eyes start to burn and he quickly turns around and leaves the room.

He doesn't go back in until Shiro wakes up.

 

* * *

 

Lance enters the room and sees Shiro being supported by Keith and Hunk by his elbows, a giant smile clear on his face as they talk softly. They all have tears in their eyes and they're talking animatedly with their hands. Lance feels something tug in his chest. He walks closer until he's a little behind Pidge, where he stops and assumes soldier pose.

Shiro looks past the team and sees Lance standing tall behind them all, no expression clear on his face. The former black Paladin laughs happily, "Lance!" pulling away from the two boys and stumbles slightly to get closer to the Red Paladin. The boy in question's back straightens slightly, and his eyes meet Shiro's, they look glazed over almost. "Yes, sir?"

They all see how their leader's smile falters slightly in confusion. Then it fades into a horrified, open mouth stare. He lowers his arms and takes a few hesitant steps towards the boy, his steps stuttering. He stops in front of him, Lance's eyes never leaving Shiro's as if waiting for a command. Shiro slowly brings his hands up to Lance's face and rests them on the sides of his tanned skin. His thumb run over Lance's skin, testing the waters.

Lance just blinks at him, no goofy smile, no hug, no  ~~funny~~  pun.. Shiro's right hand slips down from Lance's cheek and goes to hold the back of his neck gently. Still nothing.

The former Black Paladin lets out a shuddering breath and turns his head to look over his shoulder, his glare desperate and confused, and his voice a deadly whisper,

_"What have you done to him?"_


	2. The Healing

Shiro pokes his head into every room he can think of that Lance would be in. Kitchen, common room, dining room, swimming pool, his bedroom.. And finally, the training room. The door opens and he sees Lance, completely coordinated, cutting down the bots with his sword, and then swaps to his gun for long range.

The former leader watches as Lance takes down the last of his bots without breaking a sweat.

"Wanna take a break?" Shiro leans against the open door frame and Lance nods once, gesturing to the ceiling to stop the training sequence. Lance follows Shiro out of the room and they walk through the empty corridors side by side. They come to a room that's not really ever used, hence the dust covering every surface. There's a large window that goes floor to ceiling the whole wall across, and outside of it is just... space.

Shiro sits down in front of the window and gestures for Lance to do the same, so he complies.

They're both silent for a long while. Then Lance breaks it.

"Excuse my asking, sir, but why did you bring me here?" Comes his dry question. It doesn't even sound curious, it's just.. flat. Shiro looks over at his friend and sees how Lance's posture is straight and he holds eye contact with him, unwavering. Shiro sighs and looks away before responding.

"You're a lot... different to when I disappeared." He comments, trying to be casual, but his voice is strained. Lance nods out the corner of his eye.

"So are you," Lance responds softly. Shiro looks over at him again with slightly widened eyes, that's the first time Lance has said anything without a dry, military tone. He almost wants to cheer in happiness, but he holds it in. Instead, he smiles.

"Am I? I know my hair has changed but I thought I acted the same.." He's met with another head shake and Lance hesitates responding. "It's okay Lance, you're allowed to talk without permission you know," Shiro says it in a playful and joking tone, but he needs to make sure Lance knows that he's allowed to be heard.

Lance nods, still hesitant. "You don't smile right." The boy's face twists up and he tries to think of the right words. "It's not.. real a lot of the time. Well, it was when you first got back, but recently... It's felt fake." He admits softly, glancing down at the ground before quickly looking back into Shiro's eyes. "Sorry."

Shiro blinks at him in shock, so the kid noticed that? Apparently he was more observant than Shiro gave him credit for. He smiles bashfully, "I didn't think any of you would notice, really. And Lance just...  _please_ stop apologising." He takes Lance's hand in two of his own, but the boy barely takes notice.

"Sorry." Lance gives a small smile, and it's that smile. A cheeky, good-natured,  _'I just told an awful pun'_ kind of smile.

And Shiro takes a breath.

Because if Lance can still smile, there's still hope for them all.

 

* * *

 

Shiro's face hurts.

They'd been out scouting the nearby planets for anyone who could use help, but they ended up with nothing to show for it. Well, except for Shiro's black eye from an attacking tree, but oh well

He's in the kitchen, looking for the first-aid kit. Is it even in there? He's been gone so long he doesn't know anymore. Thoughts race through his head like: do they even have one? Where's an Altean when you need them?

Then, like the angel he is, Lance is there.

He's sweating, but otherwise looks fine, not even tired or cranky like the rest of them. Shiro gives Lance a pained smile. "Do you know where the first-aid kit is?" He asks, and the Cuban boy takes a moment, looking quite like a robot calculating it's response.

"I don't know where the castle's first aid kit is, but I have one in my room." He replies, and gestures Shiro to follow him. They walk silently to the younger's room, and when they enter, Shiro is heartbroken.

It doesn't look lived in.

The posters and colourful items Lance had are gone. It looks barren, like a spare room.

Dust lines the top of every counter, like he's not in here enough to disturb it. Shiro takes a seat on the edge of Lance's (completely made) bed. Lance walks into the bathroom, and returns with a small red first-aid kit.

He takes out some antiseptic cream, and gently massages it onto the cuts. He does this with perfectly still hands, he sits patiently, his other hand holds Shiro's face in place.

Anyone could tell Lance has done this- or at least something similar- before. Shiro wonders briefly if Lance has used any of his beauty products recently.

"I don't have much for black eyes, but I found this cream at a market here in space, and they said it works on bruises. So," He lathers some on his fingers, and then gently- oh so gently- caresses it into Shiro's bruised eye.

The latter, however, is a bit scared of this new goop. "Wait- have you tried it? Or is this the first time?" He asks, voice pitching up in his fear.

"Don't worry, I use it on myself all the time. This'll be healed in a day or so." Lance gives a reassuring smile, one that is so scarce these days, and then it's gone.

 

* * *

 

Saving people. That's what they do. That's their destiny.

Lance has never been fond of destiny. Whoever were they to make up who he was going to be? What he was going to do?

But, holding a scared child in his arms as they run and hide from the Galra, he's thankful for this destiny. Because if it had been someone else, maybe they wouldn't have gone back for the terrified child. But he did. He always would.

Lights are flashing, and the poor kid hides their face in his neck, sobbing silently so they're not heard. Not like they could be heard over the sirens anyway.

Lance picks the kid up again, and they're running. Back to the Lions. Back to his team. They can protect him while he protects the kid. 

The Lions are in view now. But with a Galra hot on his heels, he's barely dodging hits. 

"Lance!" Pidge cries, lifting her Bayard to aim at the Galra's head. She manages to hit it, but not before Lance gets shot. He grunts, falling to the floor, bleeding out from the side.

He stands up, and keeps running.  _Ignore the pain. Fight for your life. Protect the kid._ These thoughts rush through his head, and he has to obey them. They keep him sane; the thoughts.

Allura, Blue's new Paladin, runs over to him, and drags him into the Red Lion. "Lance has been hit! Quickly, we must leave before the ship blows!" Allura shouts over the comms. She gets some shouts back of everyone agreeing, but she has to leave Lance.

The last thing she sees before exiting the Red Lion, is Lance. On the floor. Smiling and joking with the crying child, who is no longer crying, but laughing along tearily.

 

* * *

 

Lance doesn't laugh anymore. That's a big thing Shiro noticed when he came back.

_Lance. Doesn't. Laugh._

And it scares him. Lance is the funniest, and most joking person he's ever known. And for him to no longer laugh or makes jokes... it's terrifying.

Shiro approaches the training room, muscles tense from a long day, and all he wants to do is relax. Who better to go to than Lance?  _Maybe a year ago,_ his mind supplies.

The door slides open, to reveal Lance training again. Seriously, is that all the boy does now?

"Lance," Shiro calls out after the training sequence finishes. Lance looks over and nods once, before walking over to his former leader. The upmost respect is shown when he bows his head and then stands, assuming a soldier pose. "At ease." Shiro jokes, and Lance cracks a small smile, but doesn't move.

"Hey, you still do masks and stuff, right?" Lance hesitates, but Shiro continues on anyway. "I'm really in the mood to just relax.. Care to join me?"

The Cuban boy, again, hesitates. But then an easy smile takes over his face. "Sure, Shiro."

And they walk side by side to his bedroom.

Shiro sits down on the bed, and Lance gathers the dusty old bag of supplies and sits next to him. Shiro tilts his head to the side in confusion. "Why are they in a bag?" He asks, dumbfounded.

"I was planning on throwing them away." Is all he replies with, before opening a box and checking the date. They're fine. Would be for another few years. "Guess that didn't work out, huh?" He smiles gently, and Shiro chuckles.

There's an aura of peace around them. Something that neither of them want to break by talking too loudly.

Shiro puts on his mask, just like Lance shows him, and then they sit together in relative silence.

"So. How was your day today, Lance?" Shiro asks, clearly interested in what he has to say.

Lance pauses for a few delicate moments. "It was okay." Is all he says, before Shiro's eyes prompt him into continuing. "I had a nice breakfast, thanks to Hunk." He genuinely smiles at the name of his best friend. "And then spent most of it training. Before coming here with you."

Shiro nods along, and then Lance asks him how his day was. "Well, mine was alright. I've been out of my head with stress for a few days. So it's great to be able to do this with you." He grins, and Lance's small smile doesn't exactly match his, but it's something.

It's recovery.

 

* * *

 

It takes months of Shiro and Lance hanging out in private for the boy to start smiling again. He still stands like a soldier, maybe he always will, but when Pidge cracks a joke at the table, Lance laughs.

Everyone freezes, turning to him, but Shiro quickly laughs along as well, in fear Lance would shut down again. "Good one Pidge," Shiro compliments, before turning back to his food, a small smile on his lips.

Idle conversation graces the table, but they all recognise the progress Lance is making.

 

* * *

 

Keith meets Lance in the training room, neither of them have started training, but Keith needs to speak with him finally.

"Lance. A word." Keith says, not sounding too kind or too mean. Lance nods and walks over to him. "I'm sorry."

"What?" Lance asks after a brief moment.

"The way I treated you when Shiro went missing.. I'm just sorry. I never meant for this to happen." He explains softly, eyes downcast. "I was stressed, and took it out on you. And that's my fault." He looks up into Lance's wide eyes and smiles. "But you don't have to be the perfect soldier. You can just be Lance, that's enough."

And then he's gone.

Lance doesn't know what to think.

Why would Keith say those things? Just being Lance was never enough. That's what got them here in the first place. And yet.. a small smile graces his features.

He returns to his room. He wouldn't train tonight. He gets dressed into his Lion dressing gown and slippers. They feel weird on his toned body now. They're a bit too snug, but he brushes those thoughts off.

He smiles at himself in the mirror, messing with his hair only a moment before leaving.

The door opens into the common room and all eyes are on him. He lets an exhausted smile rest on his face. "Hey guys! What are we up to?" He greets happily, bouncing into the room. The others in the room all share grins of excitement and Lance takes a seat beside Shiro on the lounge.

He takes a breath.

Shiro wraps an arm around his shoulders and hugs Lance to him, nuzzling into his hair. Lance lets out a giggle, and that's when they truly understand.

They'll be okay again.

**Author's Note:**

> [My Tumblr!](https://holykingwasteland.tumblr.com/)


End file.
